The Chaldeans: The History and Legacy of the People Who Ruled Babylon in the Iron Age

During the Late Bronze Age, from about 1500-1200 BCE, the Near East was a time and place where great kingdoms and empires vied for land and influence, playing high stakes diplomatic games, trading, and occasionally going to war with each other in the process. The Egyptians, Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, and several smaller Canaanite kingdoms were all part of this system, which was one of the first true "global" systems in world history and also one of the most materially prosperous eras in antiquity. Thus, the transition from the Bronze to the Iron Age during the late 13th and early 12th centuries BCE arguably changed the structure and course of world history more fundamentally than any period before or since, and at the center of this period of turmoil was a group of people moving across the Mediterranean and known today as the Sea Peoples. Naturally, the mystery surrounding the Sea Peoples has led to all kinds of theories aiming to identify them. While plenty of theories are plausible, there are other fanciful theories that have attempted to associate the Sea Peoples with the Atlantic Ocean and even Troy. Regardless, what is clear is that the invasions created a power vacuum throughout much of the region, with the Hittite Empire collapsing and the Assyrians falling into decline, and outsiders would arrive within centuries to assert power in Babylon. The Chaldeans were among the last of the native Mesopotamian peoples to rule ancient Babylon. Before them, Akkadians, Kassites, Assyrians, and others ruled the land situated in the middle of Mesopotamia, and before them, the Sumerians ruled southern Mesopotamia and briefly most of the region in the late 3rd millennium BCE. Understanding ancient Mesopotamia requires knowing studying how different city-states and ethnic groups were often vying for power, asserting themselves and their ethnic identities while simultaneously accepting core elements of Mesopotamian culture - notably language, science, religion, and historiography - as they played a role in the region's development. What makes the Chaldeans unique, however, is that they can be traced to the Levant. Sometime in the late 2nd millennium BCE, the Chaldeans began a trek across the region, as many people did at that time, and eventually occupied land along the Euphrates River that emptied into the Red Sea in southern Mesopotamia. It was from this region that the Chaldeans established themselves as wealthy people, accepting tribute from peoples to the north and profiting from the lucrative river and sea trade. The Chaldeans would become wealthy and powerful enough to make plays for power in Babylonia, but their attempts were usually thwarted by more powerful people. The Chaldeans were persistent, if nothing else, and thanks to a combination of that persistence and favorable geopolitical events, the Chaldeans eventually conquered Babylon and established the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty. A chronological examination of the Chaldeans' history, from their origins to their rule in Babylon, reveals some interesting aspects of their history and culture. First, it is often difficult to discern what is unique about their culture, because even though the Chaldeans had their own language, they adopted Akkadian when they became the rulers of Mesopotamia as a method of assimilating and thereby legitimizing their rule. Also, it is likely that they practiced their own religion at one time, but, again, by the time their history was well-documented in Babylon, they followed the same faith as previous Babylonian dynasties. Despite these murky origins, there is no doubt that the Chaldeans became arguably the most important Mesopotamian group in the 1st millennium BCE.